Naude's daughter needs help!
Donation protected
Hi everybody
thank you all so much for watching and sharing my dolphin rescue video. The response has been overwhelming. None of us saw this coming! I love nature and our marine life here in Walvis Bay, Namibia. I spend a lot of time in and on the water, preferably with my wife Katja and our three children Dylan (6), Nina (5), and Marley (3).
My real hero here is my little 5 year old daughter Nina. She has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma on June 01, 2015. It is a rare childhood cancer, she had a tumor in her bum which we found totally by chance in May 2015.
Namibia is a small country in Africa, there was no treatment available and my wife Katja and Nina had to leave for Red Cross Children's hospital in Cape Town more than a year ago to start a programme of intense chemotherapy, surgery and radiation at the Pediatric Oncology Unit. Up to now, Nina has received 14 blocks of chemo, 26 sessions of radiation, and surgery to remove whatever was left of her "eggy". Nina has spent 88 nights in hospital for treatment. Anybody who has been touched by cancer knows how devastating this disease is. My family has been ripped apart. We have spent many days and nights fearing for our child's life. The good news is that she has done incredibly well, but our journey is far from over.
We decided right in the beginning that my wife Katja stays with Nina throughout treatment, while I stayed back in Namibia to look after my son and other daughter to keep their lives as normal as possible. I have also been able to continue my work in kayaking, which led to the video of the baby dolphin in need. This has obviously put a lot of strain on family life living apart like this, and only getting to see each other every few weeks, usually only for a few days at a time.
The video has been seen by many millions of people around the world. When it started to go viral, we committed to donating all income from licensing fees to the most wonderful Red Cross Children's hospital in Cape Town, where Nina receives the best possible treatment from the most amazing doctors in the world. We will continue to do so as long as the clip still generates income. We can't wait to hand over a big cheque to support children with this dreadful disease.
Since Nina's diagnosis we have been overwhelmed by support from people in all ways, from all over the world. Many whom we don't even know. Support has been in the form of well wishes, prayers, support groups, gifts, visits, etc. Many people have reached out with their own cancer stories, allowing is into their own journeys, and forming an unspoken bond for life.
Amongst these, have been many offers of financial help, but we have always decided that we would try to manage on our own as a family, as far as possible. AFter a year of treatment now, our daughter's cancer is starting to put huge financial strains on us. We are lucky to have medical aid and many of our medical expenses have been covered so far. For the last year, we have had to maintain 2 households, countless flights, fuel, food, additional medical costs that were not seen to by our medical aid.
So now we have decided to start a fundraiser. We would appreciate any donation to help us during this time. Nina is the sweetest, most loving and most compassionate child in the world. She never complains, she just keeps smiling. She did not deserve any of this. No child does.
thank you all so much for watching and sharing my dolphin rescue video. The response has been overwhelming. None of us saw this coming! I love nature and our marine life here in Walvis Bay, Namibia. I spend a lot of time in and on the water, preferably with my wife Katja and our three children Dylan (6), Nina (5), and Marley (3).
My real hero here is my little 5 year old daughter Nina. She has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma on June 01, 2015. It is a rare childhood cancer, she had a tumor in her bum which we found totally by chance in May 2015.
Namibia is a small country in Africa, there was no treatment available and my wife Katja and Nina had to leave for Red Cross Children's hospital in Cape Town more than a year ago to start a programme of intense chemotherapy, surgery and radiation at the Pediatric Oncology Unit. Up to now, Nina has received 14 blocks of chemo, 26 sessions of radiation, and surgery to remove whatever was left of her "eggy". Nina has spent 88 nights in hospital for treatment. Anybody who has been touched by cancer knows how devastating this disease is. My family has been ripped apart. We have spent many days and nights fearing for our child's life. The good news is that she has done incredibly well, but our journey is far from over.
We decided right in the beginning that my wife Katja stays with Nina throughout treatment, while I stayed back in Namibia to look after my son and other daughter to keep their lives as normal as possible. I have also been able to continue my work in kayaking, which led to the video of the baby dolphin in need. This has obviously put a lot of strain on family life living apart like this, and only getting to see each other every few weeks, usually only for a few days at a time.
The video has been seen by many millions of people around the world. When it started to go viral, we committed to donating all income from licensing fees to the most wonderful Red Cross Children's hospital in Cape Town, where Nina receives the best possible treatment from the most amazing doctors in the world. We will continue to do so as long as the clip still generates income. We can't wait to hand over a big cheque to support children with this dreadful disease.
Since Nina's diagnosis we have been overwhelmed by support from people in all ways, from all over the world. Many whom we don't even know. Support has been in the form of well wishes, prayers, support groups, gifts, visits, etc. Many people have reached out with their own cancer stories, allowing is into their own journeys, and forming an unspoken bond for life.
Amongst these, have been many offers of financial help, but we have always decided that we would try to manage on our own as a family, as far as possible. AFter a year of treatment now, our daughter's cancer is starting to put huge financial strains on us. We are lucky to have medical aid and many of our medical expenses have been covered so far. For the last year, we have had to maintain 2 households, countless flights, fuel, food, additional medical costs that were not seen to by our medical aid.
So now we have decided to start a fundraiser. We would appreciate any donation to help us during this time. Nina is the sweetest, most loving and most compassionate child in the world. She never complains, she just keeps smiling. She did not deserve any of this. No child does.
Organizer
Naude Dreyer
Organizer
